Nepalese Sherpa Climbs Everest for the 25th Time, Breaking His Own Record

A Nepali from the Sherpa ethnic group successfully climbed Mount Everest for the 25th time yesterday, breaking his previous record as part of a group that was the first to reach the summit in over a year. The highest mountain in the world had been closed to climbers in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last successful attempt to reach the summit, before yesterday's climb following the reopening of the mountain, was in 2019. Tourism official Mira Acharya stated that Kami Rita Sherpa (51 years old) scaled the 8,848.86-meter-high mountain via the traditional southeastern ridge route with 11 other Sherpa climbers. She added to Reuters from base camp, "This is the first success of the season." Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from the Sherpa ethnic group were the first to climb the mountain, described as the roof of the world, via this route, which remains the most popular, in 1953. Kami broke his record of 24 ascents, which was set in 2019. At that time, he stated that he would retire after his 25th ascent.